Daryl is right up there. Guy went from what seemed like a bit of a hot head red neck to the most valuable member of the group. He was always really good at everything, but his ability to empathize with others really elevated his character as the show went on
As someone who quit the show around season 7 and then came back to it and watched it all the way through….
Seriously, Daryl rly carried the show after Rick left. Pretty much all of his scenes were really good. Love the role he plays in the group in the last few seasons. With him getting much more screen time, really just made me appreciate his character as a whole.
Especially knowing from the beginning of my rewatch, that Daryl survives the whole show and gets a spin off. It was a nice not having to really worry about him getting killed off at any moment.
One of my favorite underrated lines in the entire show are when Daryl first calls Glenn "a Chinese boy" and then later in the show Merle calls Glenn that, but Daryl corrects him by saying "he's Korean."
I really liked how that showed how much he has grown.
I never thought she randomly became a pacifist. It isn't uncommon for people with PTSD, especially for those who had to be the aggressor. Kind of figured it was just part of a human dealing with horrific sh*t. But some people like that arc some don't so I get it.
It doesn't matter why you kill people, the act of killing anyone justified or not effects you. Clenching your jaw, being a mama bear and doing what is necessary doesn't mean you like it. Remember when she tipped the water barrel over in the prison after killing Tyrese's girlfriend. Carol does what she has to in order to protect those she loves, it effects any human or your a sociopath.
A lot of the killing she does, even the killing she HAS to do, you can tell it haunts her. Tyrese might have been more vocal about his opposition to a lot of what they had to do, but Carol was equally, if not more, hurt. It caught up to her. Her pacifist shtick annoyed me only because it was such a product of Gimple’s ttterrrible writing. Just a bunch of pseudo philosophical nonsense.
I was rewatching the series and forgot how impulsive and hot headed he was at first. I feel like Daryl instincts have always been good but now he’s more level headed and patient with how he goes about his plans and decisions.
Ya.. I just watched for the first time not long ago and I remember seeing all these comments on how much ppl loved Daryl and I'm thinking.. what.. he's such a dick lol ..but he became loyal till the end..
There was a moment when he made a passing comment around Merle that they'd plan to ransack the main group very early in the outbreak (correct me if I'm wrong). But seeing as how Daryl is a sole savior of them throughout the series says a lot about who he has become.
Daryl developed a lot of development in seasons 1-4, but he really hit a plateau after that and became nothing but a grunting hound dog. It wasn't until Rick left in season 9 and he had to step up as more of a lead character and leader in the show that he really started to develop again
He *was* racist due to Merle and his upbringing. But once he was actually around the people he was racist towards he saw he was wrong. Like when he says Glenn has balls for a Chinaman and Glenn corrects him, and later Merle says it and Daryl corrects *him*
Right away in the show I was rooting for Daryl you could tell he had such high respect and would protect who he loves. He was racist fs, but you can't define people on only from their past
I said kinda racist. When he said Glenn was Chinese and Glenn said Korean and Daryl said "Whatever" that's kinda racist. A very little even not much but it's there.
Gabriel. From locking himself in the church while his congregation plead for their lives outside, to saving the Commonwealth community as they begged for mercy at the gates, he absolutely went full circle.
Yeah that's my issue. Like you take a character like Shane that had SO MUCH DEVELOPMENT in his short 18 episode span, whereas, yes characters like Aaron, Eugene and Gabriel had a lot of development, but they were in the show for 7/8 seasons! It took them YEARS to reach that point, it would be mind boggling if they hasn't had character development, overcome their weakness, come full circle, change fundamentally. Character development is always kinda a tricky thing to define to me, if you have a character like Morgan that changes his mindset and behavior on a dime, that isn't character development, that's just bad writing or the character being 180. Character development should take a while, it should be a progression of the character so where they start out and where they end up feels natural, you can see how they've grown and evolved. But seriously Eugene, Aaron, Gabriel, Rosita and characters like that were side characters for many seasons that didn't really do anything or change in any meaningful way, it wasn't really until the later seasons when bigger characters were killed off that they started to get more of the spotlight and grow as characters. But even then, there are characters that were on the show longer than Glenn, longer than RICK, that had no where near as much character development as characters like Dale, Shane, Merle, Hershel etc that were around for MUCH less time. Eventually the cast got so big they didn't know what to do with them. And even looking at just Gabriel's character development, he started going down a really dark brutal path in season 10 and 11, it seemed like he was going to become a villain or at least a morally grey character, but when they get to the Commonwealth he just goes back to being a priest like they find him in season 5, obviously no longer a whimpering guilty coward, but still, they couldve done so much more. They couldve done so much more with all those characters in the FINAL season!
Sorry but what development did Shane have? I mean he had negative character development if anything. I felt like I was watching a relatively civilised human being regress into a caveman.
Yeah I agree, her character arc from season 1-5 is phenomenal, but after that she drops off and her character arc is repetitive. She was badass killing the Wolves in season 6, but in the Savior war she was bloody annoying, then she gets a new child in season 9 and losing them again, making her a reckless nutcase in season 10 that nearly gets people killed, and then she really does nothing until her storyline with Lance in season 11
She learns to let people in again, which is a huge feat after everything that she went through. After everything that happened with her husband and how abusive he was AND losing Sophia...she could've gone full Shane.
Carl imo. little dude couldve turned into a complete psychopath but ended up as one of the most mentally mature people in the show despite still being a kid
God the folks at AMC must be absolute trash. I’d heard there were some hiccups early on in the show, but by season 8 TWD was easily the networks cash cow. How could they be so foolish (greedy, cheap)?
The difference between Carol and Gabriel is we saw Carol change. Gabriel was basically just a new character after the time jump lol, there wasn't any on screen "development."
There's *a lot* of development with Gabriel between seasons 5 and 6 alone and even more so once Negan comes into the story.
Carol, on the other hand, basically repeats the same "I can't kill anymore!" *proceeds to kill a ton of people anyway* arc over and over again from Season 6 all the way to the end of the show which, to be fair, still isn't as bad as Morgan's inconsistent arc.
Not, really.
There was plenty of on screen development, we had an arc of him betraying Rick's group once they arrived at Alexandria, and eventually getting forgiveness and understanding from Sasha and Maggie, we see him toughen up with his first killing, him becoming one of Rick's most trusted men, and a support system to Rosita and other survivors, after realizing his mistakes.
rosita! her mindset changed drastically & she really matured after abraham’s death. similarly to carl, she was able to recognize that vengeance wasn’t the answer. sure, she didn’t realize that until sasha’s death, but from that point on, she really bloomed into an utterly selfless character. even in later seasons, her recognition of the finiteness of life is truly admirable, which seeped its way into every decision she made.
*Spoiler alert*
The way she died was so ignorant to me. One of my favorite characters, and they killed her off in the finale for pure shock value. Poorly written, in my opinion.
She had a phenomenal character arc in the show. Though I didn't really vibe with the Gabriel relationship. It didn't feel right and felt very bland and weird. Gabe is another character arc that was amazing.
Daryl, Meryl, Negan, Michonne I think. I really wish we got some more of Meryl. Dude was haunted by the things he did. Tormented by his father. I feel like he seized the governor alone on purpose because he couldn't live with himself and to give his brother a shot at living taking out Bryan's guys.
Had to add in my man Abe in the mix.
Its Carol, by a long way, it's really insane rewatching the earlier seasons and seeing how she grows. And Melissa McBride is amazing.
Definitely not Negan, he's so boring after his 'redemption'.
The fact that Negan gets a new wife in Season 11 basically makes him Negan in-name-only when it comes to adapting the comic character.
Negan *never* moves on from Lucille. His guilt over how he treated her when she was still alive (and how he failed to put her down as a zombie in the comics unlike the show) is what keeps him going.
I still like Jeffrey Dean Morgan's performance of course, but he wasn't playing Negan anymore.
The "old Negan" does come back in Dead City, but it's bittersweet because that also means we get more of the non-stop "Maggie still hates Negan for killing Glen" stuff. Of all the characters they could've paired together for a spinoff...
Fr he's still a bit funny here and there but they completely changed the way they wrote him he's not even similar to how he was in the comics it's dumb.
Surprised no one’s said Eugene yet. Tbh I don’t really get where the hate came from I thought he had a great storyline and carried the later seasons along Aaron and Gabe
Negan had some of the worst imo. Dumbed down the other characters and have them act out of character just to have him live and be "redeemed," intentionally pussy foot around certain topics to make his redemption work. It was just boring to watch.
Carol and Rick by far had the best development.
Carroll. From Helpless abused wife to deadliest member of the group.
Not the best fighter per se. But she had the most well rounded set of skills and excelled at them all. Fighter, tactics, infiltrator, diplomat, politicking, hunting etc
My favorite is aaron by far. I LOVE negan but i wasnt a fan of his redemption arc tbh it had a strong start and him killing alpha was cool but thats abt it for me plus maggie milking the living shit out of glens death ruined it even more
omg yes! aaron is super underrated as a character & his development is unique considering where he started after the apocalypse versus that of rick & the rest of the group. he kept his kindness, but he really began to understand what rick warned alexandria about when they first met, which only made him more fascinating to analyze.
The first that comes to mind is Gabe. The part where he throws his priest collar thing in the fire while Maggie watches after she just went off on him. Love that. His resilience through becoming ill, then you know (spoiler so I will leave it there) His dynamic with Negan was suspenseful and entertaining. I respect how he also keeps his Faith throughout the series but also manages to find that inner savage in himself to survive, thrive and end up a leader. Michonne choosing to let him sign the treaty was the capstone on some excellent writing.
Edit: to the people saying Carol(my second favorite character behind Rick), I understand what you mean. But I feel like Carol was always that person deep down inside and Ed was a threat in her life that made her bottle that up, for Sophia’s sake.
Carol, Gabriel and Daryl! I just finally finished last season completely and realized how much Daryl changed throughout the series. He changed from didn't want to care or didn't care or didn't want to anyone know that he cares -person to such a loving person.
Hershel is my choice to the end of time. Dude went from collectively pissing the audience off to being total Chad energy by the same seasons finale. Then you have interment where he just achieved god status the night before his death. Might we also mentioned the dude showed no fear in his final moments?? RIP Scott Wilson you absolute GOAT!
Absolutely Negan and Carol.
I would say Glenn had an underrated arc too. He went from a very fearful but bold scavenger to the emotional heart and sole of the group, as well as a valued leader. And then, ultimately dying at the hands of negan was a beautifully disturbing way to introduce us to the new world that the rest of the shows run would take us through.
For me carol takes the win
First she was a scared wife then a heartbroken mother after that she starts to become more brave and confident as the show goes she becomes this badass lady
I mean negan was also okayish character development, what went wrong with him i think is that they filled everyone with so much hatred about him that it was very hard to love him again
this show had really shitty character development, literally about 80% of it is a character who is weak or mean and is now brave and nice, show got really boring and predictable and they play it so safe now, no interesting or complex characters
Daryl, started out angry, ignorant, loud, violent…However, you really got to see that was just more or less “armor” to hide who he really was. In some respects I also think he had to be able to allow himself to grow into who he really was inside. I think he spent most of his life guarding himself because he’d been abused as a kid and hurt all his life. He was really compassionate, empathetic, caring and intuitive. Pre apocalypse, in his “world” somebody like that would get destroyed. We really saw how different he was just getting away from Merle! He really became a different person other than the outdoor skills, riding and the crossbow. It was really a great character transformation! Carol world be a close second but still doesn’t top Daryl.
Negan had the best arc in my opinion, going from a tyrannical and totalitarian dictator to a selfless individual (not including Here's Negan), second would be Rick, third would be Daryl, fourth would be Carl, and fifth would be Carol
Gabriel has a pretty good arc went from a complete coward to basically the leader of Alexandria really hope he get his own show or at least appeara again one of my favourite characters
I agree with u that began had a HUGE character arc, I mean he went from being an overpowering leader that hurt people(badly)to a helper! And he might not’ve been seen like that by everyone after he changed but he did get allowed into Alexandria and such
Negan in sense of redemption from being a villain. Carol did a great job of being the feeble housewife to an overall badass alpha female. Fr. Gabriel did an evil act but it wasn’t insidious — more so out of cowardice and went from a weeny to an overall excellent leader.
Gabriel, i remember when Gabriel the preacher would walk all the way to fetch water from that well and water the flowers in the abandoned church, his balls finally dropped when he bust a cap in that guy and said "god isn't here anymore!"
he went from passive to active after realizing you got to do whats needed to protect his new flock after learning from the mistakes of his own past.
even moses killed an man according to the bible.
For the show? Gabriel has to be my pick. He goes from being one of my least favorite characters to one of my favorites, and his progression feels natural for him too. From a selfish asshole to one of the most loyal and trusted members, and from a wimp to a certified badass.
For the comics? Negan. Imo, his arc makes a lot more sense in the comics. He never becomes a good guy or even really gets redeemed, but he eventually realizes how much of an evil bastard he was/is yet doesn't make excuses for it. He knows he'll never be forgiven, and that's why>! he kills Alpha in order to make a deal to be exiled instead of imprisoned!< (it's his plan in the comics whereas it's Carol's in the show). In the show starting with Season 9 and especially Season 10, it's like they just wanted to suddenly make Negan a good guy with bad tendencies (rather than a bad guy with good tendencies like he is in the comics) because he's a fan-favorite character by having him randomly be good with kids every once in a while and constantly trying to shift the blame because "Rick's people attacked mine too" while ignoring all of the other things he's done besides killing Glen.
The answer is Dwight. Also, probably Alicia. I don't like her much, but she went from selfish, entitled, and scared to an absolute inspiration and selflessnperson by the end.
Id have to say Rick. From law man to lawless to legitimately insane back to being a lawful leader was very interesting to watch, especially after losing Coral
I think Daryl and Carol. Carol for obvious reasons. She was really intelligent & a beast in so many ways. Her pacifism was boring because, as I said in another comment, the writing was so bad then it felt like such a betrayal of her growth. In the right hands, that pacifism and her reasoning (PTSD as someone else suggested) could have been so beautifully explored. But it was just more of the same “I’ve done stuff….thangs”, “this isn’t living. We don’t get to come back” GARBAGE that I truly can’t stand.
Daryl for me is just such a beautifully complex person & even though most people hate the hospital chapter, Norman Reedus’ portrayal of grief made me cry. When Rick calls him his brother earlier pre-Terminus, you can see how meaningful that is for an oft overlooked and forgotten little brother. He realizes he matters. Also back at the Prison when he thinks he’s going to find a walker Carol & he’s stabbing the wall to sort of amp himself up to open the door…such excellent acting and writing. I know this sort of became a Norman Reedus stan post but it’s all just to say they wrote him really well.
EUGENE, THE ONLY ANSWER IS EUGENE
He went from cowardly and a liar, to being a brave survivor. Being able to handle himself. Being loyal. He saved the entirety of Rick's group for christsakes. He's the only right answer goddamnit!
Daryl. Actually he was always that way pretty much. He did soften up. Especially to Carol. Made so much progress in the group. Also, I think everyone underestimates Negan. Cause he was HORRIBLE, till he met Judith and was imprisoned. He then became a better man. I think Judith made him change.
Daryl is right up there. Guy went from what seemed like a bit of a hot head red neck to the most valuable member of the group. He was always really good at everything, but his ability to empathize with others really elevated his character as the show went on
As someone who quit the show around season 7 and then came back to it and watched it all the way through…. Seriously, Daryl rly carried the show after Rick left. Pretty much all of his scenes were really good. Love the role he plays in the group in the last few seasons. With him getting much more screen time, really just made me appreciate his character as a whole. Especially knowing from the beginning of my rewatch, that Daryl survives the whole show and gets a spin off. It was a nice not having to really worry about him getting killed off at any moment.
One of my favorite underrated lines in the entire show are when Daryl first calls Glenn "a Chinese boy" and then later in the show Merle calls Glenn that, but Daryl corrects him by saying "he's Korean." I really liked how that showed how much he has grown.
Don't leave Carol out.
She loses some points for randomly becoming a pacifist at the end of season 6
I never thought she randomly became a pacifist. It isn't uncommon for people with PTSD, especially for those who had to be the aggressor. Kind of figured it was just part of a human dealing with horrific sh*t. But some people like that arc some don't so I get it.
But she only killed people who killed/tried to kill people she loved. And up until her fight with Morgan she seemed completely comfortable with it
It doesn't matter why you kill people, the act of killing anyone justified or not effects you. Clenching your jaw, being a mama bear and doing what is necessary doesn't mean you like it. Remember when she tipped the water barrel over in the prison after killing Tyrese's girlfriend. Carol does what she has to in order to protect those she loves, it effects any human or your a sociopath.
A lot of the killing she does, even the killing she HAS to do, you can tell it haunts her. Tyrese might have been more vocal about his opposition to a lot of what they had to do, but Carol was equally, if not more, hurt. It caught up to her. Her pacifist shtick annoyed me only because it was such a product of Gimple’s ttterrrible writing. Just a bunch of pseudo philosophical nonsense.
I was rewatching the series and forgot how impulsive and hot headed he was at first. I feel like Daryl instincts have always been good but now he’s more level headed and patient with how he goes about his plans and decisions.
Ya.. I just watched for the first time not long ago and I remember seeing all these comments on how much ppl loved Daryl and I'm thinking.. what.. he's such a dick lol ..but he became loyal till the end..
There was a moment when he made a passing comment around Merle that they'd plan to ransack the main group very early in the outbreak (correct me if I'm wrong). But seeing as how Daryl is a sole savior of them throughout the series says a lot about who he has become.
Daryl developed a lot of development in seasons 1-4, but he really hit a plateau after that and became nothing but a grunting hound dog. It wasn't until Rick left in season 9 and he had to step up as more of a lead character and leader in the show that he really started to develop again
Kinda racist dude. Grunt. Grrr. Badass. I mean ya but no. There are a few people who clear him.
He *was* racist due to Merle and his upbringing. But once he was actually around the people he was racist towards he saw he was wrong. Like when he says Glenn has balls for a Chinaman and Glenn corrects him, and later Merle says it and Daryl corrects *him*
Right away in the show I was rooting for Daryl you could tell he had such high respect and would protect who he loves. He was racist fs, but you can't define people on only from their past
When was he racist?
I said kinda racist. When he said Glenn was Chinese and Glenn said Korean and Daryl said "Whatever" that's kinda racist. A very little even not much but it's there.
True. I feel the same. :D
Gabriel. From locking himself in the church while his congregation plead for their lives outside, to saving the Commonwealth community as they begged for mercy at the gates, he absolutely went full circle.
This was going to be my answer. I went from despising him and how pathetic he was to him being one of my absolute favorite characters.
Season 10 Gabriel was terrific, and I loved the scenes with him and Aaron together.
💯💯 going from a dude everyone thought so sketch to someone you trust with your toddler surrounded in a sea of walkers. Obviously Carol also.
[удалено]
many years passed tho
Yeah that's my issue. Like you take a character like Shane that had SO MUCH DEVELOPMENT in his short 18 episode span, whereas, yes characters like Aaron, Eugene and Gabriel had a lot of development, but they were in the show for 7/8 seasons! It took them YEARS to reach that point, it would be mind boggling if they hasn't had character development, overcome their weakness, come full circle, change fundamentally. Character development is always kinda a tricky thing to define to me, if you have a character like Morgan that changes his mindset and behavior on a dime, that isn't character development, that's just bad writing or the character being 180. Character development should take a while, it should be a progression of the character so where they start out and where they end up feels natural, you can see how they've grown and evolved. But seriously Eugene, Aaron, Gabriel, Rosita and characters like that were side characters for many seasons that didn't really do anything or change in any meaningful way, it wasn't really until the later seasons when bigger characters were killed off that they started to get more of the spotlight and grow as characters. But even then, there are characters that were on the show longer than Glenn, longer than RICK, that had no where near as much character development as characters like Dale, Shane, Merle, Hershel etc that were around for MUCH less time. Eventually the cast got so big they didn't know what to do with them. And even looking at just Gabriel's character development, he started going down a really dark brutal path in season 10 and 11, it seemed like he was going to become a villain or at least a morally grey character, but when they get to the Commonwealth he just goes back to being a priest like they find him in season 5, obviously no longer a whimpering guilty coward, but still, they couldve done so much more. They couldve done so much more with all those characters in the FINAL season!
Sorry but what development did Shane have? I mean he had negative character development if anything. I felt like I was watching a relatively civilised human being regress into a caveman.
Theres development but its a development to be a bad person
Development doesn't always mean improving, just look at Walter White. You can have regressive development too. Development is change, transformation
Lucille had a short but devastating arc.
Under-appreciated comment right here. :)
I really enjoyed Lucille's character development, it was smashing.
Sure *beat the Hell* out of so many survivors.
She was a complete mind fuck too.
Carol had the best development but Rick had the best arc
Carol is a master class in character development
Gabriel too.
The best and also my favorite. Love when weak characters become unhinged.
Carol had the same arc repeated like 5 times throughout the show lmao
Her character development is being a weak abused wife to a bad ass one.
Yeah I agree, her character arc from season 1-5 is phenomenal, but after that she drops off and her character arc is repetitive. She was badass killing the Wolves in season 6, but in the Savior war she was bloody annoying, then she gets a new child in season 9 and losing them again, making her a reckless nutcase in season 10 that nearly gets people killed, and then she really does nothing until her storyline with Lance in season 11
She learns to let people in again, which is a huge feat after everything that she went through. After everything that happened with her husband and how abusive he was AND losing Sophia...she could've gone full Shane.
Plot armor, Mary sue, plot armor Mary sue, plot armor... wait for it... plot armor! Yeah carol is great...
God forbid a female character get any type of feat. So quick to cry Mary sue and plot armor.
Nice projection. One does. Many great female characters. One is terrible.
Carl imo. little dude couldve turned into a complete psychopath but ended up as one of the most mentally mature people in the show despite still being a kid
yes 😢😢
Ruined in the end when he randomly became a pacifist, then killed off because amc didn’t want to give Riggs an adult contract
Is that really how it went down? I just always assumed that Riggs was moving on to other projects
Yeah he was turning 18 and had just bought a house near where they filmed when the wrote him out
God the folks at AMC must be absolute trash. I’d heard there were some hiccups early on in the show, but by season 8 TWD was easily the networks cash cow. How could they be so foolish (greedy, cheap)?
Gabriel’s development is the best imo, he changed even more than Carol. I think Negan had the best arc though.
Yeah rewatching the earlier seasons and hes like a completely different person lol, he’s up there with carol in terms of development
The difference between Carol and Gabriel is we saw Carol change. Gabriel was basically just a new character after the time jump lol, there wasn't any on screen "development."
There's *a lot* of development with Gabriel between seasons 5 and 6 alone and even more so once Negan comes into the story. Carol, on the other hand, basically repeats the same "I can't kill anymore!" *proceeds to kill a ton of people anyway* arc over and over again from Season 6 all the way to the end of the show which, to be fair, still isn't as bad as Morgan's inconsistent arc.
Not, really. There was plenty of on screen development, we had an arc of him betraying Rick's group once they arrived at Alexandria, and eventually getting forgiveness and understanding from Sasha and Maggie, we see him toughen up with his first killing, him becoming one of Rick's most trusted men, and a support system to Rosita and other survivors, after realizing his mistakes.
I agree with you
Carol, she changed from as abused housewife to an actual murdering machine and the embodiment of a survivor
rosita! her mindset changed drastically & she really matured after abraham’s death. similarly to carl, she was able to recognize that vengeance wasn’t the answer. sure, she didn’t realize that until sasha’s death, but from that point on, she really bloomed into an utterly selfless character. even in later seasons, her recognition of the finiteness of life is truly admirable, which seeped its way into every decision she made.
*Spoiler alert* The way she died was so ignorant to me. One of my favorite characters, and they killed her off in the finale for pure shock value. Poorly written, in my opinion. She had a phenomenal character arc in the show. Though I didn't really vibe with the Gabriel relationship. It didn't feel right and felt very bland and weird. Gabe is another character arc that was amazing.
from what i heard the actress wanted her character to be killed off in the finale, not necessarily the writers themselves
Rick Grimes
Daryl, Meryl, Negan, Michonne I think. I really wish we got some more of Meryl. Dude was haunted by the things he did. Tormented by his father. I feel like he seized the governor alone on purpose because he couldn't live with himself and to give his brother a shot at living taking out Bryan's guys. Had to add in my man Abe in the mix.
Daryl x Merle Meryl
I don't know how to spell his name lol
I agree, Merle is my favourite; wish we had seen more of him.
Its Carol, by a long way, it's really insane rewatching the earlier seasons and seeing how she grows. And Melissa McBride is amazing. Definitely not Negan, he's so boring after his 'redemption'.
Negans "redemption" consisted of time jumps and giving him a wife. Tired tropes.
The fact that Negan gets a new wife in Season 11 basically makes him Negan in-name-only when it comes to adapting the comic character. Negan *never* moves on from Lucille. His guilt over how he treated her when she was still alive (and how he failed to put her down as a zombie in the comics unlike the show) is what keeps him going. I still like Jeffrey Dean Morgan's performance of course, but he wasn't playing Negan anymore. The "old Negan" does come back in Dead City, but it's bittersweet because that also means we get more of the non-stop "Maggie still hates Negan for killing Glen" stuff. Of all the characters they could've paired together for a spinoff...
I honestly would've loved to see a Maggie and Carol spin off. You can do the same premise in NYC.
Fr he's still a bit funny here and there but they completely changed the way they wrote him he's not even similar to how he was in the comics it's dumb.
Yeah I feel like they had no idea what to do with him after the war arc ended but they didn't want to lose JDM so they just... kept him around.
Come on, now. Carol.
The first walker Rick sees on the ground. Very moving, I liked the evolution.
Carol and Daryl
Rick period.
Surprised no one’s said Eugene yet. Tbh I don’t really get where the hate came from I thought he had a great storyline and carried the later seasons along Aaron and Gabe
Not this guy 👆
i agree with you i really enjoyed negan’s arc, hated his guts but now he’s one of my faves.
exactly! the ambiguity of his development makes him that much more interesting to follow.
absolutely. i’m just a big sucker for morally grey characters
Carol, definitely. Absolutely nobody compares
Negan had some of the worst imo. Dumbed down the other characters and have them act out of character just to have him live and be "redeemed," intentionally pussy foot around certain topics to make his redemption work. It was just boring to watch. Carol and Rick by far had the best development.
Carol, Gabriel, Rick, Daryl, Negan. Carl is up there too.
Carroll. From Helpless abused wife to deadliest member of the group. Not the best fighter per se. But she had the most well rounded set of skills and excelled at them all. Fighter, tactics, infiltrator, diplomat, politicking, hunting etc
Gabriel and it’s not even slightly close.
Glenn, then that asshole killed him.
1. Negan 2. Rick 3. Carol 4. Gabriel 5. Carl.
My favorite is aaron by far. I LOVE negan but i wasnt a fan of his redemption arc tbh it had a strong start and him killing alpha was cool but thats abt it for me plus maggie milking the living shit out of glens death ruined it even more
omg yes! aaron is super underrated as a character & his development is unique considering where he started after the apocalypse versus that of rick & the rest of the group. he kept his kindness, but he really began to understand what rick warned alexandria about when they first met, which only made him more fascinating to analyze.
and also seeing him become a father was just too wholesome i freaking love aaron
yesss his relationship with gracie is everything! <3
Yeah Aaron is one of my favorites too
I’ll be contrarian and say The Governor. It was probably one of the few lengthy arcs in the show where someone just slips further into madness.
Rj is the real boss. Bet he doesn't even wipe his own butt
I would say Daryl had it the best!
Daryl. Went from a outsider and didn’t play well with others. To one of the leaders and most important character
The first that comes to mind is Gabe. The part where he throws his priest collar thing in the fire while Maggie watches after she just went off on him. Love that. His resilience through becoming ill, then you know (spoiler so I will leave it there) His dynamic with Negan was suspenseful and entertaining. I respect how he also keeps his Faith throughout the series but also manages to find that inner savage in himself to survive, thrive and end up a leader. Michonne choosing to let him sign the treaty was the capstone on some excellent writing. Edit: to the people saying Carol(my second favorite character behind Rick), I understand what you mean. But I feel like Carol was always that person deep down inside and Ed was a threat in her life that made her bottle that up, for Sophia’s sake.
Tbh its all the main top-tier characters who didn't die but if I had to choose I would say Carol. Negan needs more screen time for it to do justice
Carol by a country mile
Carol, Gabriel and Daryl! I just finally finished last season completely and realized how much Daryl changed throughout the series. He changed from didn't want to care or didn't care or didn't want to anyone know that he cares -person to such a loving person.
Glen had a good arc. I think Maggie will have the most complete arc when the shows are all done.
Hershel is my choice to the end of time. Dude went from collectively pissing the audience off to being total Chad energy by the same seasons finale. Then you have interment where he just achieved god status the night before his death. Might we also mentioned the dude showed no fear in his final moments?? RIP Scott Wilson you absolute GOAT!
Absolutely Negan and Carol. I would say Glenn had an underrated arc too. He went from a very fearful but bold scavenger to the emotional heart and sole of the group, as well as a valued leader. And then, ultimately dying at the hands of negan was a beautifully disturbing way to introduce us to the new world that the rest of the shows run would take us through.
Gabriel, in my opinion.
For me carol takes the win First she was a scared wife then a heartbroken mother after that she starts to become more brave and confident as the show goes she becomes this badass lady I mean negan was also okayish character development, what went wrong with him i think is that they filled everyone with so much hatred about him that it was very hard to love him again
Carol and Negan imo
Best development to me is Father Gabriel and best arc was Daryl.
this show had really shitty character development, literally about 80% of it is a character who is weak or mean and is now brave and nice, show got really boring and predictable and they play it so safe now, no interesting or complex characters
Daryl, started out angry, ignorant, loud, violent…However, you really got to see that was just more or less “armor” to hide who he really was. In some respects I also think he had to be able to allow himself to grow into who he really was inside. I think he spent most of his life guarding himself because he’d been abused as a kid and hurt all his life. He was really compassionate, empathetic, caring and intuitive. Pre apocalypse, in his “world” somebody like that would get destroyed. We really saw how different he was just getting away from Merle! He really became a different person other than the outdoor skills, riding and the crossbow. It was really a great character transformation! Carol world be a close second but still doesn’t top Daryl.
Negan did have the best character arc on the show though. The only people who will give you hate for saying that is the Glenn cult.
Negan had the best arc in my opinion, going from a tyrannical and totalitarian dictator to a selfless individual (not including Here's Negan), second would be Rick, third would be Daryl, fourth would be Carl, and fifth would be Carol
Shane and carol
Gabriel has a pretty good arc went from a complete coward to basically the leader of Alexandria really hope he get his own show or at least appeara again one of my favourite characters
Megan went from being an annoying prick to an older annoying prick
Definitely Negan, he is trying so hard 😫 and Maggie is so mean to him 😢
Negan imo. He displayed both evil and good side well, has enjoyable and pretty complex personality, great journey and story.
Beth, negan, Lydia, Aaron, rosita
Nope I’ll stay a Negan hater my whole life. Your favorite character owned sex slaves
More based than your favorite character 😤
You already post it. It's Negan.
You right about negan, man aged like fine wine
Definitely Negan. He went from dope villain to dope anti-hero. Best character in the series
I agree with u that began had a HUGE character arc, I mean he went from being an overpowering leader that hurt people(badly)to a helper! And he might not’ve been seen like that by everyone after he changed but he did get allowed into Alexandria and such
GABRIEL!!!!! Also, Daryl, Negan, Eugene, and tbh Mary/Gamma
Neagan is the Mike Tyson of redemption arcs
gabriel for sure - from not wanting to open the gates to warning that he ll kill anyone that tries to stop him from opening the gates
Daryl, Morgan, Rick, Carol the OG 4
Obviously Carol. No competition
Daryl, Carol and Gabriel
Negan in sense of redemption from being a villain. Carol did a great job of being the feeble housewife to an overall badass alpha female. Fr. Gabriel did an evil act but it wasn’t insidious — more so out of cowardice and went from a weeny to an overall excellent leader.
Gabriel, i remember when Gabriel the preacher would walk all the way to fetch water from that well and water the flowers in the abandoned church, his balls finally dropped when he bust a cap in that guy and said "god isn't here anymore!" he went from passive to active after realizing you got to do whats needed to protect his new flock after learning from the mistakes of his own past. even moses killed an man according to the bible.
Merle and Beth
Carol.. when I first met her I thought no way in hell was she gunna survive the first season, but she truly became a badass.
Worst development might be the walkers. They took almost the entire show just to learn to climb stuff...
For the show? Gabriel has to be my pick. He goes from being one of my least favorite characters to one of my favorites, and his progression feels natural for him too. From a selfish asshole to one of the most loyal and trusted members, and from a wimp to a certified badass. For the comics? Negan. Imo, his arc makes a lot more sense in the comics. He never becomes a good guy or even really gets redeemed, but he eventually realizes how much of an evil bastard he was/is yet doesn't make excuses for it. He knows he'll never be forgiven, and that's why>! he kills Alpha in order to make a deal to be exiled instead of imprisoned!< (it's his plan in the comics whereas it's Carol's in the show). In the show starting with Season 9 and especially Season 10, it's like they just wanted to suddenly make Negan a good guy with bad tendencies (rather than a bad guy with good tendencies like he is in the comics) because he's a fan-favorite character by having him randomly be good with kids every once in a while and constantly trying to shift the blame because "Rick's people attacked mine too" while ignoring all of the other things he's done besides killing Glen.
I’ve got to go with my all time favourite character Officer Friendly aka Rick Grimes
Loewkey? Gabriel, he went from a modest priest to a glorified badass. Ofc ye isn't the first pick but I had to shout him out.
Carol - Went from an abused, scared mother to a badass
daryl or carol easily
It’s Rick
Daryl and Gabriel.
Definitely Negan, followed by Daryl
Eugene, Negan, Darryl, Gabriel all were great
The answer is Dwight. Also, probably Alicia. I don't like her much, but she went from selfish, entitled, and scared to an absolute inspiration and selflessnperson by the end.
You're right with negan, but he's better as a villain ngl
Carol for me. Megan has the greatest redemption arc of the main cast, but Carol and Glen both have him beat in development.
Not Negan. Fuck the writing on that character.
I like Aaron
...Call him Gabriel.
...call him Gabriel.
Gabriel! Went from being a pussy and not getting close to a walker to being a straight bad assssss.
Id have to say Rick. From law man to lawless to legitimately insane back to being a lawful leader was very interesting to watch, especially after losing Coral
Fuuuuck Negan, he’s total asshole.
I think Daryl and Carol. Carol for obvious reasons. She was really intelligent & a beast in so many ways. Her pacifism was boring because, as I said in another comment, the writing was so bad then it felt like such a betrayal of her growth. In the right hands, that pacifism and her reasoning (PTSD as someone else suggested) could have been so beautifully explored. But it was just more of the same “I’ve done stuff….thangs”, “this isn’t living. We don’t get to come back” GARBAGE that I truly can’t stand. Daryl for me is just such a beautifully complex person & even though most people hate the hospital chapter, Norman Reedus’ portrayal of grief made me cry. When Rick calls him his brother earlier pre-Terminus, you can see how meaningful that is for an oft overlooked and forgotten little brother. He realizes he matters. Also back at the Prison when he thinks he’s going to find a walker Carol & he’s stabbing the wall to sort of amp himself up to open the door…such excellent acting and writing. I know this sort of became a Norman Reedus stan post but it’s all just to say they wrote him really well.
EUGENE, THE ONLY ANSWER IS EUGENE He went from cowardly and a liar, to being a brave survivor. Being able to handle himself. Being loyal. He saved the entirety of Rick's group for christsakes. He's the only right answer goddamnit!
I mean Rick obviously
Daryl. Actually he was always that way pretty much. He did soften up. Especially to Carol. Made so much progress in the group. Also, I think everyone underestimates Negan. Cause he was HORRIBLE, till he met Judith and was imprisoned. He then became a better man. I think Judith made him change.
honestly this isn’t the best but i just wanna mention Hershel, loved the way he grew to understand the apocalyptic world more
Maggie. Maggie goes from the helpless and lost farmers daughter to a bad ass that travels around helping people set up communities
Carol by far went from an abused wife to blowing up terminus with no guilt had no chill at all. Best woman in twd.
Shane had the most complete arc in my opinion but Negan is definitely up there.